The Wooden Flute
by CyberDeletion
Summary: [Rune's POV. Takes place in the first book.] The Dragon Knights get lost and find themselves in a small town whose citizens like to tell myths and legends, especially the one about a place called the Manor. But is it really just a legend? [Finished]
1. Legend

CyberDeletion: This is my first Dragon Knights fic. I wrote the original story for my English class… *hides behind a flame-resistant shield* so expect everybody to be really out of character.

Thatz: "Really out of character" is an understatement.

Rath: *nods in agreement with Thatz* For crying out loud, in this one part --

Rune: THATZ! Don't be rude OR give away the story! *attempts to whack Thatz and Rath with his sword*

Thatz: *blocks Rune's sword* You're such a suck-up.

Rath: *dodges Rune's sword* Rune, you just like it because it's in your POV.

CD: ^_^" Hey Readers, let me sum up my warnings: It's not as good as it could be (I had to write it really quick), the characters are all OOC, and this has been separated into chapters because the original was longer than any person would want to read at one time. Somebody needs to say the disclaimer.

Thatz: Why can't _you_ do it?

CD: I'm the authoress, therefore I don't have to. Rath, say the disclaimer.

Rath: Can I fight a demon if I say it?

CD: Um… sure.

Rath: OK! *reads a script* CyberDeletion doesn't own Dragon Knights, although that would be 'so-o-o-o-o-o-o sugoi'. She would also like to thank "Snowblomgren1" for the idea for this fic. The flute and the book and stuff belongs to CD, though.

CD: *bows* Arigato, Snowblomgren1!

Rune: Aren't you forgetting something?

CD: Huh? Oh yeah! This story takes place in the first book, after the whole thing with Memphis Castle (Isn't that chapter called "Knights In White Satin"?) but before the Dragon Knights find Cesia working as a fortune-teller ("That's The Way The Fortune Cookie Crumbles").

Thatz: Oh yeah, and she's gonna put up chapters every so often… about a chapter a week.

Rath: This is just the first chapter. Even though the first draft is already done, ideas for making this story better are great! *goes off to look for demons*

Rune: Please R&R… flames are NOT appreciated.

*ß ^à *

****

The Legend of the Skilled Dreamer's Flute

Page 127 of Myths and Legends of Dusis and Beyond

__

Long ago, in a forgotten land foreign to us all, there lived a wealthy elf with a special talent for creating beautiful things, especially those to do with music. He played the music he had written on golden harps, silver pianos, and violins decorated with sapphire, also made by him. The favorite instrument of the elf and the most beautiful sounding also happened to be the simplest and least pleasing to the eye. It was a simple wooden flute with only a few elegant carvings, most of which had begun to fade. It was different from every other instrument because it could find and pick out songs that struck the deepest chord in a person: their life force.

You see, in that place and age, it was believed that each individual had their own secret and entirely unique song, and that song acted like that person's life. If the person died, the song belonging to that person would die as well, and could never be played as well as it could have been. The wooden flute found these songs and played them at their best. There was a problem, though. A "Life Force Song" could only be properly played once. Being like a life that can only be lived once, the song could be played that same number of times, and if it were, the person it belonged to would die.

Many evil people and creatures wanted the power of the instrument for themselves and sought after it. In order to keep it from killing anybody, the elf sealed the flute in an impressive-looking case with a spell that could only be broken by a descendant of his. The evil ones attacked the elf and fatally wounded him at his mansion. Just before he died, the elf cast a spell that cursed the mansion and forced the attackers to stay there forever as guardians and condemned anyone else who wished to steal his instruments to the same fate, if the demons didn't get to them first. A descendant and any companions with him were immune to this curse.

Nobody has ever gone to take the treasures of the elf and come back. Legend says that someday, the spells and curses will be lifted and the danger will be present once more when the music is played again. But, of course, you don't believe in legends, do you?

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" I ask, looking skeptically around at the dense foliage surrounding us. We three Dragon Knights have been walking for hours and the little patches of sky I can see tell me that the distance to the nearest town will be traveled amid a downpour if we don't get there soon. I knew we shouldn't have taken that so-called 'shortcut' Thatz had insisted on.

"Well, actually, this isn't really a way…" starts Thatz. "If we could only use the Dragon Eyes, we could probably figure out the way to the nearest town quicker than we could with my map."

"Don't get me started, Thatz. We don't know how to use them and they're not ours to use in the first place," I say. The Dragon Eyes are said to be able to grant their owners wishes. We have only seen them used once, and we're not sure how that happened.

"Fine then, I didn't really care about using them in the first place. I'll just use my map..." Thatz looks at a cheap map he had bought at the last town we had stopped at. "… which says that we should be there already."

"Also remember that your map said that the demon passage we went through didn't exist," I say irritably. With that map, we'll never get back to Draqueen. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wandering around with the severed head of the enemy that we were sent to retrieve.

"Who's complaining? That was fun!" says Rath, and continues whistling happily as he had been doing ever since he defeated around thirty-seven demons back at the passage.

I ignore Rath's comment. "It's going to rain soon and I don't want to be stuck in the middle of it!"

"Gee, Rune, most people would think that the Dragon Knight of Water wouldn't mind a few raindrops," says Thatz. That thief can be very annoying sometimes.

"Since you're the Dragon Knight of Earth, does that mean you wouldn't mind being buried alive under a few tons of dirt?" I retort.

"Hey! Thatz actually used a map right! I can see a town from here!" says Rath, and runs ahead to see if he was right.

"Wait up!" yells Thatz as he and I follow hopefully after.

Sure enough, the three of us are soon sitting at a combination inn and restaurant. (Thatz had found it an ingenious idea to combine the two, so that was the first place we headed.) I look out a nearby window as I take a sip of my drink. The dark clouds make it look more like night than mid-afternoon.

"That's gonna be a lot of rain," says a voice behind me. I turn to see a young woman also looking out the window. "They say it's going to be a flood. That it'll be the most amount of rain we've had in…" She thinks for a moment. "… Somewhere around fifty years. At least, that's what everybody says."

"Does it rain much around here?" I ask.

"Every so often. It seems pretty normal to me. Of course, people around here tend to exaggerate and tell stories. By the way, I'm Mai."

"I'm Rune. What kind of stories do the people around here tell?"

"Oh, rumors spread faster than a wildfire here. The people around here also like all sorts of stories and tales. Most of it's not true."

"Most of it?" This might be interesting.

"Pretty much all of 'em are fake except for the ones about the Manor."

"What's the Manor?" The way she said it, it sounded highly dangerous and transcendental. I'd better keep this from Rath and Thatz or they'll be all over it.

"That guy over there can tell the story better than I can; looks like your friends are listening to him right now," she says, gesturing towards an old man who had gained the rapt attention of Rath and Thatz.

"… And the treasures are still there, guarded by demons and the cursed ghosts of the people who tried to steal it before," says the old man, just finishing his tale as I walk over.

Thatz, who has for a fact gone into a demon's belly to get treasure, stands up. "Thanks for telling us about it," he says to the old man. Then he turns to Rath and me and smiles. "Guess where we're going next!"

"We are _not_ going to that Manor, we are going to go to Draqueen as soon as this storm blows over!" I say.

"Come on, Rune! It's just one little detour! That place has demons, and the Dragon Lord _told_ us to go fight demons, remember?" says Rath.

I threaten Rath with my sword. "The Dragon Lord also said to get back soon! Taking more than a month to get back is not getting back soon!"

"Chill! Since it's been so long already, what difference will a little trip to a manor make?" Acting as if that ended the argument, they both grab me by my arms and drag me out of the building in the direction of what I guess is the Manor. I really dislike them sometimes.

When we're sufficiently away from the town, far enough that I might as well go to the Manor, they finally stopped dragging me.

"Great. Weren't you listening to the last thing that man said? We'll all probably get turned into ghosts or something. For the record, none of this is my fault." I glare at them as we all continue walking. Apparently, getting turned into ghosts and having to spend forever in a manor doesn't bother them.

I stare up at the Manor when we reach it. I have a very bad feeling about this place… I'm not going to tell them that, though. They'll start making fun of me. "That's really big," I say, for lack of anything else. 

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," mutters Thatz, trying to pick the lock on a door.

"Maybe the demons inside will be really big!" says Rath. He has his sword ready, probably hoping to fight some demons as soon as we step inside. Typical.

"I was just trying to point out that it doesn't look like it will be easy to find treasure in a place like this because it's so big," I say, ignoring Rath as usual.

Thatz, who is evidently ignoring both Rath and me, discards whatever tool he had been using to try and open the door. "I can't get the door to open, dang it!" He leans against the offending entrance and tries to think of another way in.

This is very annoying. "You dragged me almost all the way here and now you can't get that door open?" As soon as I had said the word "open", the door swung open as if it was obeying a command, making Thatz fall over. All three of us are surprised.

"How'd you do that?" asks Thatz, sounding a bit angry. I guess I hurt his ego.

"Maybe you unlocked the door and didn't realize it, and so when you leaned against the door it pushed it open…" I say. I doubt it, though. It doesn't take a genius to know if a door's unlocked. We haven't gone inside and this place is starting to creep me out.

"Who cares? It's open!" says Rath, running inside to see if there are any demons that he can beat up. Thatz gets up and (not without giving me a suspicious glare first) looks around the room to see if there are any expensive things he could take from there. I hesitate and my bad feeling sends my mind racing; What if we all become cursed and are forced to spend eternity in this place? What if demons kill us? This place is so big, what if we somehow manage to get lost?

I reprimand myself for thinking like that. We're just going to go in, Rath will slay a few demons, Thatz will take some treasure, they'll both get in trouble and I'll get dragged into the middle of it. Just like usual. I step across the threshold of the Manor.

*ß ^à *

CD: What did you think of the first part?

Rath: Love it?

Thatz: Hate it?

Rune: Couldn't care less?

CD: Please review! I'd really like it if you put more than "It was good" or "Why did you think you could write", though. Reasons are good. Once again, suggestions are greatly appreciated! Better titles are good too. Please don't flame me! *hides behind the flame-resistant shield*


	2. Demon

CyberDeletion: Yay! Second Chapter!

Rath: *reads off a piece of paper* CD would like to thank her ONLY reviewer, Angel Cesia!

CD: *gets teary-eyed* ARIGATO!!!!!!!!!!!

Thatz: She's a bit grateful…

Rune: *clears throat* CD would like to dedicate this chapter to Angel Cesia, for bothering to read and review this fic.

Thatz: Who'd have thought that this thing would actually get a GOOD review…

CD & Rune: THATZ!!!!! *both of them attack Thatz*

Rath: *watching from the sidelines* Well, someone still has to say the disclaimer… here it is: CD doesn't own Dragon Knights. *leaves to go look for a demon*

~*~

I step across the threshold of the Manor and my apprehension is put on hold. I am amazed at the size of the room that I'm in. It looks like it was once a grand ballroom, with space for at least a hundred people to dance together and still have room. Two staircases with golden banisters lead up to a balcony adorned with many jewels, all of them a shade of blue. Under that, there is a small stage just big enough for an orchestra. I can just imagine a ball being held here, with people dressed in their finest. The host might be talking with some of his (or her, I don't know who had lived here) guests. There might have been a place for refreshments off to the side. A few guests would be talking up on the balcony and watching the people below them dance to the classical music of the band…

"Hello-o-o, anybody in there?" Rath was waving a hand in front of my face as he said that. "Stop daydreaming! You're gonna get left behind." He turns around and walks after Thatz, who had started looking for more treasure to steal, there already being some silver candlesticks missing from the spots they had been at. I sighed. Thatz has no appreciation for the finer things in life.

"I don't think I'd be heartbroken if I _did_ get left behind," I mutter before going to catch up with the other Dragon Knights, my bad feeling beginning to resurface.

Half an hour later, we still haven't found much treasure and there are no demons in sight.

"Man! The guy back in town said that there were demons guarding the treasure in this place! There hasn't been a single one so far!" complains Rath. Thatz isn't in a better mood, grumbling about how there's nothing around here except stuff he can't carry.

Something small and black unexpectedly darts from one room to another. That is, it tried to. Rath had seen it and caught it. It is a demon, but it's very small. The little thing squeaks and squirms around in Rath's grasp.

"Is this supposed to be one of the demons guarding the treasure? It's not very tough…" says Rath. He sounds really disappointed. "This is pathetic. I'm not going to fight this little guy." He sets it down and the demon runs as fast as it can own the hall, still squeaking.

There's silence as we continued on, but I have the suspicious feeling that we're being watched in addition to my general apprehension about this place. Thatz is scrutinizing a different room when I decide to say something.

"Does anybody else have the feeling that we're not the only ones here?" I ask. Rath shrugs and Thatz shakes his head as he tries to determine whether it's worth it to try to lug an alabaster statue around the Manor.

"Why do you ask?" asks Thatz while preparing to see exactly how heavy the statue was. He'll never be able to carry it.

"No reason," I mutter. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. I watch Thatz for a moment and say, "You know that that thing is very heavy, right?"

Apparently Thatz doesn't, because he tries lifting it. He was struggling with it and was about to put it back down when a loud noise and a tremor shake the Manor. Thatz loses his balance and falls over, dropping the statue in the process. The statue is going to slam into me if I don't move. I tried to get away… and accidentally run into Rath. His sword gets knocked out of his grasp and spins across the floor until something in the doorway stops it. I mutter a "sorry" to Rath and look at what the sword ran into. My mouth falls open and Rath cheers.

There is a large, angry-looking demon standing in the doorway. It has to be at least six feet tall. This particular demon looks like someone took a boulder and a person and mixed them together to create a gray-skinned monster whose left hand alone is bigger than its head. That one hand looks powerful enough to crush somebody else's head, namely one of ours. If the demon curled up and remained still, it would probably be mistaken for a boulder quite often. It has a small head perched on massive shoulders. Fortunately, it doesn't look particularly bright. It had picked up Rath's sword and sniffed it before throwing it on the ground. Rath promptly retrieves his sword and tries to attack the demon with it. The sword hits and nearly breaks. It only succeeded in making the demon even angrier. I glance at Rath. He looks like he's about to summon his dragon, Fire.

"Hey Rath! Stop! Don't summon Fire! Don't try to use any of your own fire, either!" I yell. He probably won't listen to me, but I've got to try anyway.

At least he stops and looked at me. "Why not?"

"Fire's not going to fit in here and even if he did he'd burn the whole place down, just like you'll do if you use yours!" I say. The dragons, even though they can change their size, are almost always huge when they're summoned and Rath always uses more fire than needed.

The demon, not being attacked but still angry, grunts and stomps into the room. It swings a giant hand around in an attempt to hit somebody or something. Rath tries to use some fire on the demon in spite of what I said, but it had no effect.

"See, Rath? Fire doesn't even work on it anyway! There's not much you can do here!" I say, ducking to avoid a swipe from the demon.

"Then what do _you _suggest we do?!" Rath yells back, looking frustrated with both the demon and me. I'm not making people very happy today, but that's not on the top of my list of priorities right now.

"Run!" I say. At least Thatz didn't need to be told twice; he just grabs the treasure he already has and runs. Rath hesitates and glares at the demon. I know he's not going to move unless someone makes him. I grab him by the arm and practically drag him behind me as I run to the door, which somehow slams behind us on its own. I'm too busy to worry about some stupid door. We hear the demon roar from inside the room and all three of us take off.

I'm looking for a good place for all of us to try to hide, in the lack of any better ideas. One door in particular catches my eye. I run up to it and reached for the knob so I can open it. Before I even touch it, we hear the lock click as if it has somehow unlocked itself. The door swings wide open on it's own. Rath tries to turn back so he can go and continue trying to fight the demon. I've still got a firm grip on his arm, though, and push him inside. The door slams behind us, once again by itself. It is dark inside the room until Thatz lights a match.

"Sure, you'll let _Thatz_ use some fire, but I can't use my own?" hisses Rath. I can tell he's glaring at me in the dim light.

"_Thatz_ isn't going to burn down the Manor with a match, unlike what you would have done with your fire," I say. The room becomes uncomfortably quiet except for the pounding of rain against the side of the house. I can glimpse a very large window that stretches from close to the floor to nearly touching the ceiling. I notice that Thatz is staring past us as if in awe. I peer into the darkness as well but I can't see much because Thatz has started walking away as if in a trance. This has to be some truly amazing treasure if Thatz thinks it is. "What is it, Thatz? Can you see anything?" 

"Yes," he says, "Wonderful things."

~*~

CD: Wow, look at my attempt at somewhat of a cliffhanger! What does Thatz see that's so amazing?

Rath: I know! It's--

Rune: *slaps his hand over Rath's mouth* RATH! Don't give it away!

Thatz: The readers aren't supposed to know YET, pyro! … Um, what DO I see?

CD: *sweatdrop* You'll have to wait 'til the next chapter. Just like the readers. R&R, please!


	3. Instruments

CyberDeletion: 3rd chapter is FINALLY up! I'd like to thank Star Shadow, Sam Baku, and tears for reviewing! BTW, Happy Easter everybody! ^____^

Rune: *wearing bunny ears* Do I really have to wear these? It's quite humiliating, you know.

Rath: *poking a pair of ex-bunny ears with his sword to make sure it's not alive after he attacked it*

Thatz: *also wearing bunny ears* Shut up, Rune. You're not the only person who has to deal with them. Anyway, they're pink. Girly. Most people would think that you'd like them.

Rune: I do NOT like pink girly things! *suddenly has one of those giant mallets and starts chasing Thatz*

CD: *ignores Rune and Thatz* Hey Rath, wanna say the disclaimer?

Rath: Not really.

CD: Hey Rath, wanna wear a pink 'n fluffy bunny suit?

Rath: Er… CD does not own Dragon Knights.

~*~

"Yes," Thatz says, "Wonderful things."

Rath is impatient. "Well, take what you want so we can get out of here and I can go fight the demon!"

I not-so-lightly whack Rath in the back of the head with the flat side of my sword. I want to know what these 'wonderful things' are! "Could you tell us what you see? There's not enough light --" I stop in mid-sentence to shield my eyes from the sudden flash that floods the room with the last word I had spoken. I blink in the brightness as my eyes adjust. The light has revealed a room sparkling with precious metals and jewels of all sorts. They aren't single jewels sitting on display or gold and silver in piles, but rather something quite unexpected…

"Instruments," I breathe, "The room is full of musical instruments." I had always had a fondness for anything to do with music and have been told that I'm quite talented with it, but it's a talent that I'd rather not have most people know. I had to dress in drag twice before (It was not my idea! I was forced to do it both times!), and one time was because I had to pretend to be a princess that I happened to look exactly like (Don't ask; it's a long story). Apparently people think I look like a girl. It would just crack Rath and Thatz up if they knew I was good at something "girly". I'd never be able to live it down.

Still, I can't help wanting to play a few keys of one of the pianos, or to let myself hear the sounds of a violin again…

Wait, what's that? There's a small case, probably belonging to a wind instrument, in the center of the room. The way the case is decorated, the thing inside must be really special. I make my way slowly up to it. Thatz is closer to the case than I am. I think he's trying to see what he can carry. I sigh. I guess his amazement has worn off.

There's a loud thump as something slams itself against the door, roaring. Rath is smiling and holding onto his sword.

"It found us?" I say, and immediately feel stupid. Of course it found us; it wouldn't be pounding against the door otherwise. Thatz has his bag of treasure out and is trying to find something that can fit inside it. He had grabbed a violin and was trying to get it in his bag when the door bursts open and the gray demon from before stomps inside. A few more just like it accompany it, along with many other kinds. They don't attack wildly, but rather cautiously, as though they are afraid of damaging the room… the instruments! They don't want to hurt the instruments! There's no time to wonder why. I run behind a piano and try to get close to the demons while using the instruments as shields in order to attack or yell at Thatz and try to get Rath to run, which ever is the better idea at the time. The demons are having a hard time trying to tiptoe around the room and attack at the same time. There are a lot of them, though… scratch that, there's an army. Even Rath can't fight an army of them unless he wants to bring down the mansion and kill everyone, including himself.

Otherworldly moaning starts coming from what sounds like all directions at once. A chill runs up my spine and the room feels more than a few degrees cooler. There are opaque people _coming through the walls_… one of these ghosts flies through Thatz, who drops his entire bag of treasure and gapes at it. The light flickers and dims as the specters appear in the room, glowing slightly and moaning as though the world was coming to an end.

I shudder and dodge between harps to get away from the door and up to a higher part of the room near the window. There are too many demons to get away through the door. I see that Thatz has gathered his treasure again and is running from a demon, trying to fend it off with his sword in one hand and holding onto his bag of treasure with the other. Fortunately, this is a demon that seems to be affected by swords. I help out Thatz by slashing the demon and stabbing it with my sword. Thatz grabs the nearest small object to him that looks valuable and shoves it into his bag. I glance around the room. Even Rath is in trouble now; the demons are crowding in on him. He's using his fire at close-range but there are still the gray demons to worry about. Thatz is once again trying to stave off more demons. A few more come for me as well. I'm looking for a way out of this place and fighting at the same time. Thatz seems to be looking for the same thing, and it looks like he's found something. I follow his gaze and freeze, earning myself a few demon attacks that are right on target. I land in a pile of percussion instruments, but I don't care. I'm staring at Thatz and realize what he's planning.

He's looking at the window.

That baka is going to jump out the third-floor window.

We're _probably_ the third floor anyway. I couldn't keep track of all the stairways and passages we've gone through. If this is not the third floor, we're definitely higher. The aforementioned idiot gets a firm grip on his bag of treasure and sprints towards the window. He takes a running leap and shields himself as he crashes through the glass. I run over to the window to see if he's all right. I don't see him, which would probably be a good thing normally, but I can barely see the ground because of the storm. I start turning around (I don't want to leave my back exposed for a moment while with those demons here!) and the next thing I know, I've been pushed out of the window by one of the demons. I try to twist around completely and grab the window ledge. Time seems to freeze for a moment as my fingertips brush against it, but I'm too far away to get a hold on it and time resumes its normal pace as the earth comes rushing up to meet me. I hit the ground and feel a split-second of pain before I black out.

~*~

Rune: That was really short.

CD: Yes, I know I'm cruel. But hey, it's Easter!

Rath: Aaaaand…

CD: … and, I'm supposed to be working right now. I've got projects and papers due very, very soon. .

Thatz: HA! I'm not the only person shirking around here!

Rune: Uh, Thatz? I wouldn't make that comparison out loud…

CD: *glares at Thatz* What _I_ do is called P R O C R A S T I N A T I N G, not shirking. *pulls out a bunny suit* Come here. Now.

Thatz: *runs away like any other sane person would do*

Rune: *frowns* That might be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

Rath: So? It's funny! *goes to help CD*

Rune: … right. Should CD make Thatz wear the bunny suit, or is it too cruel? Oh, and what do you think of the fic so far?

CD: *stops chasing Thatz for a moment* Read and Review, PLEASE!


	4. FlutePlayer

CD: *cries* I'm SO sorry for not updating in such a long time! You all must hate me!

Rath: CD? Only ONE person has reviewed…

CD: *bows* Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU Ebony Falcon!

Rath: *continues* … and that number MIGHT suggest that nobody cares.

Rune: -_-# RATH!!! *Starts chasing Rath around Thatz*

Thatz: *tied to a chair, gagged, and dressed in a pink bunny suit* Mmmph! [Translation: Idiots! Untie me so I can get this costume off!]

CD: *teary-eyed* N-no one cares about my fic? *cries*

Rune: Rath! You made the authoress cry! *knocks Rath unconscious with a sword* *clears throat* CyberDeletion doesn't own Dragon Knights. And yes, the story WILL be continued. Please read!

~*~

I feel a split-second of pain before I black out.

__

It's dark. I try to move and find it difficult, like I'm walking through water. A faint strain of music reaches my ears. I swim in the direction of the sound. I find a well-dressed elf playing a simple wooden flute with a thread looped through a small hole in it so it could be hung around someone's neck. He's playing the most beautiful song I've ever heard on the petite instrument. I float there for an unknown amount of time, just letting myself get lost in the aria. The silence was deafening when he stopped playing. He smiles benevolently at me. His dress and apparent disposition give him the aura of a kindly noble.

"You must be Rune. I have often wondered if an elf would ever come to my manor. Oh, forgive me," he said, chuckling at the confused look on my face, "I am Musokatakumi, the owner of the Manor."

I am surprised. I try to speak, but my voice refuses to work. I listen to what he has to say.

Musokatakumi slips the flute's thread from around his neck. "You seem to have an appreciation for music. Here, take this." The flute disappears from his hands. My eyes widen as it reappears around my neck. The owner of the mansion smiles again at my surprise. "It is your job to keep it from anyone who wants to use it for their own desires. Be very careful with it…" He vanished when he finished speaking. I was left in the darkness again, only now with the flute hanging from around my neck.

"Hey Rune! Wake up!" A sudden pain in the ribs jolts me awake. I blink dazedly and look around, sitting up. I realize I'm in the mud outside of the Manor, surrounded by shards of glass. Thatz had apparently kicked me to try and wake me up. "It's about time! Jeez, did you slip out the window or what?"

I stand up, aching from the fall but glad not to be dead. "No, I was pushed, which makes more sense than _jumping_ out the window. What's with Rath?" I ask, noticing the Dragon Knight of Fire standing nearby in a very bad mood.

"Him? He's just mad because the demons pushed him out the window, too, and he couldn't get back in. But hey, look at this," he says, holding up his bag of treasure and grinning, "I got a ton of loot!"

"Uh, great, Thatz." It's still raining. It's not like I'm not already soaked to the bone and muddy, but I don't want to stay out here more than necessary. "Let's get going," I say, and start walking.

"What, are you scared that the big bad demons?" says Thatz, his grin spreading even wider.

"No!" I say, which is true. I'm not scared of the demons, but I don't want to think of what they could do to me if they had the chance.

"The poor little Dragon Knight of Water is afraid of the Manor!" says Thatz, taunting me.

"Oh, be quiet. I just want out of the storm because I have no desire to become a living lighting rod! Now, I have a headache, and you aren't helping." I continue walking towards the town. I don't want Thatz to know he was pretty much right. That bad feeling about the Manor is still there, and it's not just about the demons and ghosts, although I don't know why else I wouldn't like the place. I speed up my pace and try to put some distance between the intimidating mansion and myself.

We walk for a while, but it begins raining so hard that we have to find shelter and hope the storm will die down. Luckily for us, there's a cave nearby. Thatz keep a few things in a small waterproof pouch, including fuel for fire and some playing cards. I'm now watching while Thatz and Rath play "War" next to a crackling fire. Thatz had tried to incorporate gambling into the game, but I made them stop. Thatz's treasure had been placed in a pile in a part of the cave. I remember that Thatz had had trouble getting something open earlier. Maybe I can get it open. I reach into the bag and pull out the case that had been in the center of the room with the musical instruments. The top of it was gilded with pearl and had exquisite designs on it in gold with pieces of emerald, sapphire, and tiger's eye. There was a silver lock that matched the hinges. It's probably why Thatz couldn't get it open. I look at the tiny silver item keeping it closed and am slightly surprised to hear it click and unlock. I probably shouldn't be by now, since everything from that mansion seems to work for me. I open the case and look inside. I freeze as I see what is sitting on a few sheets of unfinished music.

It is a wooden flute with a thread looped through a small hole in it so it could be hung around someone's neck.

I carefully lift it out of the case and look at it. There are no jewels, no metal, and no decoration of any kind except for a few worn yet still elegant carvings. Thatz glances over at me handling the treasure.

"I'll never be able to sell that thing," he says, sighing as though it is an inconvenient loss. "Oh well. You can keep it if you want. At least the case will be worth something."

"What're you looking at the flute for, Rune?" asks Rath, "It's not that interesting. Do you know how to play it or something?"

"No!" I lie. I am not a very good liar.

Thatz starts laughing. "He can! Rune can play the flute! I'll bet he could've played the harp and a bunch of other stuff back in the Manor! Jeez Rune, I knew you were a girlie-girl, but this is too much!" He falls over laughing and knocks over his pile of cards. Rath is nicer about it… at least he hasn't _fallen over_ laughing.

I can feel my face going red. "Stop! It's not funny!"

"You're right, it's not funny," says Thatz. I blink in surprise, and then he finishes his sentence. "… It's hilarious! Next you'll be reading sappy romance novels and having tea parties!" He continues howling with laughter louder than the wind that is howling outside. I get angry and throw a candlestick at him, but he ignores it and continues laughing. Rath stops laughing soon, but Thatz keeps going. Both Rath and I are getting bored from waiting for Thatz to stop.

"So, can you really play that thing?" asks Rath, pointing at the flute.

"Yeah," I say, and pretend to be very interested in the fire in the hope that the subject will change. I have no such luck.

"Let me hear, then."

I look up at Rath, perplexed. "Nani? What?"

"I wanna hear you play the flute. It'll be better than listening to Thatz laugh for half an hour."

Thatz's laughing lessens enough to say, "Yeah! Play the flute! While you're at it, play 'Mary had a Little Lamb'!" He collapses into another fit of laughter.

I glare at Thatz and pick up one of the incomplete sheets of music. I am going to play the flute, but certainly not "Mary had a Little Lamb". I begin playing the music from the sheet to get the feel of the instrument. I'm soon playing swiftly and masterfully, as if I've played this song a million times before. The sheet leaves off near the middle of the page, but I continue on. The notes seem to come out of nowhere and I somehow know exactly how to make it sound right. I close my eyes and listen to the music as I play it. It reminds me of something… yes, fire and ice. A strange combination, I know, but that's what I think of as I'm playing it. I'm so swept up in the song that it takes me a moment to realize that Thatz has stopped laughing. The thief is waving a hand in front of Rath's face. Rath looks almost like he's spacing out, like he's not really here.

I stop playing. "What the…? Rath?"

Thatz gets one of those 'bright ideas' and grabs the candlestick I threw at him earlier. He whacks Rath over the head with it and yells, "Hey Rath! Dusis to Rath!"

Rath snaps back to reality after that. He takes the candlestick away from Thatz and whacks him with it. "What was _that_ about?" asks Rath, facing me now. He doesn't look too happy.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," I say. I look at the flute in my hands. Rath spaced out after I started playing the flute, so maybe… no, that can't be it. The flute had nothing to do with this. Rath's just being weird, and I'm letting my imagination run away with me.

"Well, if you're both done being weirdoes, can we get back to what we were doing before? Rath, we haven't finished our game of 'War' yet!" says Thatz, putting his cards back in a pile so they could continue.

"Yeah, you're right…" Rath gives me a confused and suspicious look, and then continues playing "War". I let the flute hang from around my neck and watch them, wondering what just happened.

~*~

Thatz: *snore*

Rath: *angry* Hey Rune! What was the deal with that flute?!

Rune: I honestly don't know!

CD: *cries*

Rath: *sweatdrop*

Rune: Jeez, Rath! She's STILL crying because of what you said earlier!

CD: *sniffle* Please Read and Review!


	5. Denial

CyberDeletion: Hello! Thank you for reading this far into the story!

Rune: *looking around* Where are Rath and Thatz?

CD: I duct-taped them to a tree outside. Thatz was being annoying and Rath was starting to side with Thatz. .

Rune: That was rather harsh… *looks outside* *winces* They're getting attacked by rabid squirrels…

CD: Oh, we'll save them later. Say the Disclaimer.

Rune: CD doesn't own Dragon Knights. Still.

CD: I would like to dedicate this chapter to RPGer Yami, who made the review very interesting to read. ARIGATO!!!!! ^_^ Also, Thanks to Cosmos of the sun! I've never been complemented because I _don't_ rush before!

Rune: Please R&R! *runs outside to make sure Rath and Thatz don't get seriously injured by the rabid squirrels*

~*~

The rain eventually lessens and we head back to town. By the time we've gotten back to the inn, it's late and the rain is pouring harder than ever. We all go to our rooms to dry off and settle in for the night. I glance out the window of my room to see if the storm had settled any. When I turn around, there's a little boy standing next to my bed. I guess today is just full of surprises.

I've never seen him before, but I figure that he's probably one of the townsfolk's children. "Hi there, what's your name? I didn't hear you come in."

The little boy looks up at me but doesn't say anything. He points at the flute that's still hanging around my neck.

"My flute? What about my flute?"

The little boy gives me a quick glare and runs out of the room. I chase after him and see that he runs into an empty room. I follow him in there. The room is still empty. I look everywhere a person could hide, but I can't find him. I walk out of the room.

Thatz comes out of his room and leans against his doorway, yawning and looking irritated. "Hey, what was all the running about? Normal people are trying to sleep!"

Normally, I'd have to try not to laugh at his messed-up hair, but right now I've got more important things on my mind than whether Thatz's hair is combed or not. "Sorry, Thatz. This little boy was in my room and ran away so I was chasing after him and he ran into that room."

"Well, where is he?"

"He disappeared."

"Nani?"

"Like I said, he disappeared. I checked everywhere around the room, and it was like he had just disappeared into thin air."

"People can't disappear into thin air, Rune," says Thatz, with the uneasy tone of someone who thinks they might be talking to a lunatic.

"I know, I know! I'm telling you, the little kid ran into the room, and then he wasn't there."

"Are you feeling OK? How hard did you hit your head when you fell out of that window back at the Manor?"

"I'm not crazy! I swear, that kid went into that room and disappeared!" I say, raising my voice in anger. He might as well come out and say he thinks I'm crazy, even though I'm not!

Rath leans out his door. "What's up?"

Thatz glances warily at me. "Rune says a little boy ran into a room and disappeared."

Rath looks at me like Thatz had said that I said the sky was orange. "People don't just disappear like that, Rune."

"I know they don't, but somehow, this kid did." I can tell from the looks that they give each other that it's official. Thatz and Rath both think I'm crazy.

"Alright, let's say the kid disappeared. Now, Rune, I'm serious. How hard did you hit your head?" asks Thatz.

"You did say you had a headache earlier," says Rath, "You should go lie down or something."

"… You know, like a normal person," adds Thatz.

"Fine. If you think I'm so crazy, I _will_ go to bed. Not because you guys are telling me to, but because you are both _wrong_ and my headache's coming back!" I snap at them, and retreat to my room. I toss my flute on the windowsill and lie on my bed, glaring at the ceiling irately.

"I'm _not_ going crazy," I whisper stubbornly to the empty room, although I began to doubt myself. Sleep will not come easily tonight.

The next morning, Rath, Thatz, several townsfolk, and myself are stuck at the inn because of the storm. The disappearing boy from last night has gone unmentioned so far, and I'm hoping it will stay that way. I don't want anyone else thinking I'm crazy. I am reading a book that Mai had lent me, called _Myths and Legends of Dusis and Beyond_. She said she had already read it and that I "looked like I could use something to do" since I do not like to play any board games with Thatz, who had managed to convince almost everybody else to play "Monopoly" with real money. I turn the page in the book and begin reading a new legend, titled "The Flute of the Skilled Dreamer".

'_Long ago, in a forgotten land foreign to us all, there lived a wealthy elf with a special talent for creating beautiful things…_'

I continue reading, fascinated by this tale in particular. I pause when I read just a little further.

'_The favorite instrument of the elf … was a simple wooden flute with only a few elegant carvings, most of which had begun to fade…_'

My hand reaches almost instinctively for where the flute would normally be hanging around my neck, but then I feel silly. Of course it isn't talking about _my_ flute. This is just some inane story that someone made up because they had too much time on their hands, and told it over and over until people actually thought it was true. I continued reading.

'… _The elf sealed the flute in an impressive-looking case with a spell that could only be broken by a descendant…_'

I thought of the case that my flute had been in. Thatz hadn't been able to get it open no matter what he had tried, but all I had to do was touch it. This has to be a coincidence. I am probably not even related to this person, even if they did exist.

'…_The elf cast a spell that cursed the mansion and forced the attackers to stay there forever as guardians and condemned anyone else who wished to steal his instruments to the same fate… a descendant and any companions with him were immune to this curse._'

I am _not_ related to this elf… I am _not_ related to this elf… this is just a story… right?

'_But, of course, you don't believe in legends, do you?_'

I do _not_ believe in legends… I do _not _believe in legends… I think. Sometimes, there can be some truth to legends… what am I saying?! This is just a story! Somebody made it up! Everything around here is just a coincidence.

I start reading another legend, when I hear Thatz talking during his game.

"Hey, did anybody else get woken up by Rune running around last night?" He receives various answers that are mostly negative except for a couple people who say that they thought they heard something but had fallen back asleep.

"Why do you ask?" questions a young girl.

"Oh, he said something about seeing some kid run into a room and vanish. Hey, look, I rolled a six!" says Rath, moving his game piece forward on the board. The people from the town had become strangely quiet after Rath had spoken.

"Did you say 'vanish'?" asks a man in his mid-twenties.

Thatz spoke again. "Yeah, he kept saying that this boy ran into a room and disappeared. If you ask me, I think he hit his head too hard when he fell at the Manor. Hey Rath, since you landed there, that means you have to pay up." I resist the urge to remind Thatz that I am sitting in the same room as him, and start trying to see if I can pretend to look completely absorbed in the book so that maybe they won't ask me any questions. It doesn't work.

"Rune, why didn't you say something?" asks Mai. "This kind of stuff is very important."

Great, now she probably thinks I'm crazy too! "Listen, I have not lost my mind. I saw a boy in my room, he ran away, I followed him, and then he wasn't there anymore. If that makes me crazy, then sue me."

There is an awkward pause between the time that I finished talking and Mai began. "You're not crazy, Rune. It's important because that means something is awry at the Manor, and the ghosts of people who've gone there before are roaming around here. What you saw was a ghost, not the imaginings of a lunatic. This is bad, because it means that the demons are probably coming as well."

Thatz scoffs at what Mai said. "Something awry at the Manor? It seemed fine when we were there. Those demons and ghosts chased us out. I think Rune here's either hit his head too hard or he's finally cracked."

That's it. I have to leave the room before I strangle Thatz. I stomp up the stairs to my room, leaving the book I was reading behind. I sit down on the bed and do the only thing I can think of that might help me calm down. I pick up my flute from the windowsill and begin to play it. A few random notes soon become a song. It starts out angry but soon calms and the entire 'theme' changes. I play with my eyes closed, and let myself get swept up in the music like I had done in the cave. This specific song reminds me of earth, gold, and for some reason, food. 

Eventually, the notes start coming to me slower and slower and I know the song is almost over. I stop playing when I hear someone exclaim something about Thatz. I wonder if he cheated at "Monopoly". I slip the flute's thread around my neck go downstairs to see what's going on.

I am shocked to see everybody crowding around Thatz, who looks like he's passed out. Rath is shaking him and trying to get him to wake up.

I join the back of the small group. "What happened?" I ask Mai.

"We were playing the game after you went upstairs when he suddenly got this dazed look on his face and passed out. No one knows why."

I think back to the tale about the flute and clutch the one hanging around my neck. I pale as I give in to the truth:

The legend _is_ real.

~*~

CD: Oooooh… Spooky.

Thatz: Not really.

CD: How'd you get free?!

Rath: Rune cut the duct tape.

CD: Rune!

Rune: Squirrels were attacking them!

CD: -_-" Never mind, never mind. Please R&R!


	6. Paths

CD: Alrighty then! Last chapter!

Rune: Already? *looks at the remaining story* That's rather short for an ending.

CD: Well, what do you expect? I finished the darn thing at an unholy hour of the morning!

Rath: What'd you do that for? Why not wait until later?

Thatz: I'll bet she typed it up in 5 minutes just to get it over with.

Rune: You know very well that she worked hard on this story…

Rath: *sees list of reviews* *blinks* Hey, 13 reviews… that's lot for you, CD.

CD: *proudly* Yeah, and 12 different reviewers! It beat my other fic!

Thatz: Having only 13 reviews is nothing to be proud of…

CD: *grabs a homemade flame-thrower, consisting of a lighter duct-taped to a bottle of hair spray* Don't make me use this on you…

Rune: *quickly takes the 'flame-thrower' away from CD* Don't burn him to death!

CD: *sigh* You're right. Oh well. I'd like to thank the absolutely, positively, astoundingly wonderful reviewers who took the time to read and review the previous chapter, specifically Tsumi, Neo-Kitty (I wish they were nicer too, but what can I say… I don't hate 'em!), wingnut, and last but not least, Tani Gesakusha! *bows* Thank you all!

Rath, Rune and Thatz: CyberDeletion does not own Dragon Knights…

CD: On to the last, really short chappie! ^_^

~*~

The legend _is_ real.

I am a descendant of the elf.

I have the flute from the legend.

Mai sees the flute around my neck and stifles a gasp. She hurries me into the kitchen, out of earshot of everyone else.

"Where did you get that flute?" she demands.

"Thatz took it from the Manor and decided he couldn't sell it for much so he let me have it."

"Do you know what that thing can _do_? It's a lethal weapon!"

"Yes, I know, I read about it in your book. I need to do something about it."

"You might not be able to do anything. You said that you saw the ghost last night, right? That means that the demons should be here any minute. They're after the flute."

I suddenly got an idea. I start heading upstairs to grab my coat and the flute's case before heading out.

"Where are you going?" asks Mai.

"I've got an idea, and it's simple enough to possibly work!" I call as I reach the top of the stairs. Less than a minute later, I'm running in the fierce storm towards the origin of the problem: the Manor.

The doors still open for me as I run through the halls, trying to remember where the room with the instruments is. After what feels like hours but is probably only minutes, I find the room where Thatz had dropped the alabaster statue. I retrace my steps from there and find myself placing the flute, complete with its case and sheets of music, back where it had been. I run to the broken window and look outside, shielding my eyes from the rain to see if there are any demons or ghosts heading this way. I once again regret my actions, even though no one has seen me. The ghosts and demons don't know the flute is here yet, so the ghosts are probably still searching the town. As a matter of fact, the demons are probably terrorizing the town right now, too. I jump out the window and land the right way this time, not having been pushed. I run back toward the town as fast as my feet can carry me.

I get back to town and see that I was right, that the demons are or at least were here. I see two unidentifiable bodies lying mangled on the ground already. When I get to the inn, it is dark and empty. It looks like there was a struggle there because many things are broken and damaged and blood is splattered on some of the walls. A few of the bodies of the people I had seen playing "Monopoly" earlier are strewn about. I recognize one of them and know that a demon had finally gotten the better of Rath. I stand there, stunned, not knowing what to do, only knowing that this could have been prevented. I spot to round orbs half-hidden under some wreckage. I dig them out and discover the Dragon Eyes.

I remember how Thatz wanted to use them to find the nearest town, before we came to this one. Now I wish that I had let him. The three of us would probably end up somewhere else, away from the Manor and the flute. This wouldn't have happened and no one would have died.

"I wish," I say aloud, my voice sounding strange and out of place in the relative quiet, "That I could start over. I wish I had let Thatz try to use the Dragon Eyes when he wanted to." To my astonishment, the Dragon Eyes began to glow. That meant they were going to grant my wish! I smile, the last thing I do before time undoes itself.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" I ask, looking skeptically around at the dense foliage surrounding us. We three Dragon Knights have been walking for hours and the little patches of sky I can see tell me that the distance to the nearest town will be traveled amid a downpour if we don't get there soon. I knew we shouldn't have taken that "Shortcut" Thatz insisted on.

"Well, actually, this isn't really a way…" starts Thatz, the food and treasure obsessed Dragon Knight of Earth. "If we could only use the Dragon Eyes, we could probably figure out the way to the nearest town quicker than we could with my map."

"Don't get me started, Thatz. We don't know how to use them and they're not ours to use in the first place," I say, but then something in the back of my mind tells me to let him at least try, so I concede. "… But I guess just trying to use them couldn't hurt much."

Thatz grabs the Dragon Eyes and starts looking them over, as though there might be instructions written on part of it. "I wish I knew how to use these things… hey! Wish, that's it! I wish we knew where the nearest town with good food is." The Dragon Eyes glow only briefly. Thatz shakes them. "I don't think they're working. I still don't know where the nearest town is. Anyone else?" Rath and I both shake our heads. 

Thatz sighs and tries looking at his map again. "Hey, the map says there's a road right by here… oops, I guess we were going the wrong way this whole time."

"You guess?" I say, slightly annoyed.

"Hey, Thatz is right! We're right next to a road!" says Rath, running towards it. Thatz runs after him, saying something about being an expert map-reader. I laugh and look back in the direction that we were heading in. I wonder, where would we have ended up if we had continued traveling that way?

"Rune! Hurry up, or we're gonna leave you there!" yells Rath.

"Hey! Wait for me!" I call, running towards the newly found road and a different future.

~*~

CD: There! It's done! My first finished chaptered fic!

Rath and Thatz: *glaring* You killed us…

CD: *nervously* Uh… blame the unholy hour of the morning?

Rune: CyberDeletion? There's one more thing you need to take care of… *points to Digimagic's reviews* What in Dusis are they talking about?

CD: Oh, yes. I have a reply from one of my original characters, Kat. *clears throat* "To Bakura: Die, now. Contrary to popular (or at least your) belief, I am not a nutcase. Nor am I a kitten. My Yami is also neither of these things. I do not know why a character from a different series is posting here, but do know this: you will not, I repeat, _not_ live long enough to post again. If that does not come to pass, you will at least sustain enough bodily harm to insure you will not be moving for a long, long time. To Sarah and Kit: I know CD appreciates your positive review. To Neko: I'm not going to ask how you got my candy bars." …Yeah.

Thatz: That was long, and too sane-sounding to belong to one of _your_ characters.

CD: *ties up Thatz, gags him, and puts a "For Rent" sign on him* Whoever wants him can have him until the next time I write a fic with him in it. You've just got to share it with anyone else that wants him until then.

Rath: Hey! You can't just rent people like that!

Rune: You're right, she can't!

CD: *ties Rath and Rune up, too* *puts a "For Rent" sign on Rath* Same stuff applies for Rath as it does Thatz. I'm keeping Rune, though. *bows* Thank you all for spending your valuable time reading and reviewing!


End file.
